President of the Bundestag
President of the Bundestag | |
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Präsident des Deutschen Bundestages | |
Madam President (when addressed in the Bundestag) | |
Type | Presiding officer |
Seat | Reichstag building, Berlin |
Nominator | Political parties |
Appointer | Bundestag traditionally appointing nominee of the largest party |
Term length | Contemporaneous to legislative period |
Constituting instrument | German Basic Law |
Precursor | President of the Reichstag |
Formation | 7 September 1949 |
First holder | Erich Köhler |
Deputy | Vice Presidents of the Bundestag |
Website | www.bundestag.de |
This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of Germany |
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The president of the Bundestag (
The current office-holder is Bärbel Bas (SPD), who was elected during the first session of the 20th Bundestag on 26 October 2021.
Election and customs
The president of the Bundestag is elected during the constituent session of each election period after the federal elections or in a later session, if the office has fallen vacant, by all members of the Bundestag. The president has to be a member of the Bundestag. Until the election of the president, the session is chaired by the father of the House, the so-called Alterspräsident. Since 2017, this has been the longest serving member of the Bundestag; in 1949-2017, it was the oldest member of the Bundestag by age.[1]
Usually, the president of the Bundestag is a member of the largest parliamentary group. This constitutional convention had emerged already in times of the Weimar Republic, but this is not required by law. The term ends with the election period, and there is no provision for an early removal. The term of the president can only end prematurely if they resign the position, leaves the Bundestag or dies. They can be reelected in the next election period provided they become a member of the Bundestag again.
Traditionally, the president of the Bundestag is elected uncontested. The only exception so far has been in 1954 after the unexpected death of
Presidium of the Bundestag
The president of the Bundestag has several deputies, the vice presidents of the Bundestag (Vizepräsident des Deutschen Bundestages or Bundestagsvizepräsident), who are supplied by the other parliamentary groups. The number of vice presidents was not fixed in the Bundestag's Geschäftsordnung (
In the current 20th Bundestag, the vice presidents are:[2]
- Aydan Özoğuz (SPD)
- Yvonne Magwas (CDU/CSU)
- Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
- Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP)
- Petra Pau (Die Linke)
Legal background
The legal foundation for the office is Article 40 of the
Duties
The president's most important duty is to chair the sessions of the Bundestag. The president determines the order of speakers and opens and closes the debates, and ensures that debates take place in an orderly fashion.
Additionally, the president receives the statements of account of the political parties, monitors party financing and regulates campaign cost reimbursement. The president also has police power over the premises of the parliament and oversees its police force, can veto any search and seizure there to protect the independence of the parliament,[8] and acts as the employer of the Bundestag's public servants.
List of presidents
Portrait | Name (Born–Died) |
Term of office | Political party/parliamentary group | Legislative periods | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Days | |||||
1 | Erich Köhler (1892–1958) (aged 66) |
7 September 1949 | 18 October 1950 | 1 year, 41 days | CDU/CSU | 1st | |
2 | Hermann Ehlers (1904–1954) (aged 50) |
19 October 1950 | 29 October 1954 | 4 years, 10 days | CDU/CSU | 1st, 2nd | |
3 | Eugen Gerstenmaier (1906–1986) (aged 79) |
16 November 1954 | 31 January 1969 | 14 years, 76 days | CDU/CSU | 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th | |
4 | Kai-Uwe von Hassel (1913–1997) (aged 84) |
5 February 1969 | 13 December 1972 | 3 years, 312 days | CDU/CSU | 6th | |
5 | Annemarie Renger (1919–2008) (aged 88) |
13 December 1972 | 14 December 1976 | 4 years, 1 day | SPD | 7th | |
6 | Karl Carstens (1914–1992) (aged 77) |
14 December 1976 | 31 May 1979 | 2 years, 168 days | CDU/CSU | 8th | |
7 | Richard Stücklen (1916–2002) (aged 85) |
31 May 1979 | 29 March 1983 | 3 years, 302 days | CDU/CSU | 8th, 9th | |
8 | Rainer Barzel (1924–2006) (aged 82) |
29 March 1983 | 25 October 1984 | 1 year, 210 days | CDU/CSU | 10th | |
9 | Philipp Jenninger (1932–2018) (aged 85) |
5 November 1984 | 11 November 1988 | 4 years, 6 days | CDU/CSU | 10th, 11th | |
10 | Rita Süssmuth (born 1937) |
25 November 1988 | 26 October 1998 | 9 years, 335 days | CDU/CSU | 11th, 12th, 13th | |
11 | Wolfgang Thierse (born 1943) |
26 October 1998 | 18 October 2005 | 6 years, 357 days | SPD | 14th, 15th | |
12 | Norbert Lammert (born 1948) |
18 October 2005 | 24 October 2017 | 12 years, 6 days | CDU/CSU | 16th, 17th, 18th | |
13 | Wolfgang Schäuble (1942–2023) (aged 81) |
24 October 2017 | 26 October 2021 | 4 years, 2 days | CDU/CSU | 19th | |
14 | Bärbel Bas (born 1968) |
26 October 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 180 days | SPD | 20th |
Books
References
- ^ a b Deutscher Bundestag, The Bundestag's constituent sitting Archived 2006-12-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "German Bundestag - The Presidium". German Bundestag. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
- ^ (in German) Deutscher Bundestag, Erläuterungen zur Geschäftsordnung
- ^ Deutscher Bundestag, Debates Archived 2006-12-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Deutscher Bundestag, President and Vice-Presidents Archived 2006-10-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Deutscher Bundestag, Council of Elders Archived 2005-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Deutscher Bundestag, The Federal Convention Archived 2006-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ (in German) Deutscher Bundestag, Gesetzliche Grundlage Archived 2007-05-27 at the Wayback Machine für die Polizei beim Bundestag